Online Collection

SEARCH TIPS

Use "Start your search …" to quickly find objects by keyword. Acceptable search terms include artists' names or terms such as India, flower, or bodhisattva.

You can enter several keyword terms at once. For example, if you want to find Buddha images from China, you can enter Buddha China. Such searches will call up those objects that have either term in their entries. To only call up those objects with both terms in their entries, enclose the search terms in quotes by entering "Buddha China."

You can refine your results by applying filters, located on the left sidebar. Expand the filter list by clicking on the plus sign, and click on any filter value to apply it to the current search results. To remove a filter, click on the filter name shown beneath "Results."

Use the Advanced Search form to search for objects by title, credit line, materials, object type, object number, artist, date made, period, place of origin, exhibition history, or subject.

You can widen a keyword search to include the full text of object labels by checking "Search all Fields" on the advanced search form.

The * (asterisk) can be used as a wild card in searches. For example, child* will find both child and children, and 198* will find any date in the 1980s.

Be aware that search results might include objects not currently on display at the museum. To limit your results to only objects currently on view, check the box for "Only display objects on view."

More objects are added regularly, and the information is continuously reviewed and updated.

Browse Collection

On the Collections homepage, you can choose to view a selection of objects illustrating particular themes, aspects of the collection, highlights of a particular time period or curators' choices. You can name these groupings in order to indicate clearly the type of works or themes that the collection illustrates. The groupings are listed as a series of links under "Collections" in the main navigation bar to the left.

The Contemplative Alcove contains a water basin titled Tsukubai (2000) by Izumi Masatoshi (b. 1939). A built-in bench beside the basin gives visitors the opportunity to pause and meditate. This gallery also includes contemporary objects and a large Shigaraki jar displayed near the Alcove.

The Early Japan gallery features archaeological findings from the prehistoric period. The works displayed here span the era between 4000 BCE and 600 CE. Unglazed earthenware objects, clay figures of animals and humans, and bronzes give a picture of the evolution that took place in daily life and ritual during this period. A variety of objects shows the flow of ideas, technology, and styles from the Korean peninsula to Japan during the Jomon, Yayoi, and Kofun periods.

This gallery features inro (small portable containers) and netsuke (carved toggles used to fasten inro to kimono sashes), two kinds of accessories used by commoners, as well as arms and armament produced for the samurai class. The upper ranks of the samurai, especially during the peaceful Edo period (1615–1868), displayed their power and wealth through their taste for splendor, particularly in such items. Made of luxurious materials, these pieces are characterized by both refinement and spectacle, evident in their design and technical virtuosity.

This gallery focuses on six aspects of Japanese religious art. It explores the major concepts that correspond to changing religious beliefs and ritual as they are manifested in the art produced for Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and individual worship. Two of the sculptures in this gallery—images of Brahma (Japanese: Bonten) and Indra (Japanese: Taishakuten)—are internationally renowned. These two Hindu deities were adopted by Buddhism in its early stages in India; in the Japanese pantheon they commonly appear as attendants of the historical Buddha. To learn more about the sculptures, visit http://www.asianart.org/collections/brahma-and-indra.

This online collection features paintings shown in temporary displays in the Japanese Paintings and Screens gallery. It highlights the diverse artistic styles that flourished as new markets for painting developed after 1600. The paintings and screens in this gallery are selected as examples of a painting tradition or school, or on the basis of shared themes. They change every eight months, offering visitors the opportunity to see many different examples of Japanese paintings over time.

This small display space includes two different types of art: Japanese ceramics and prints. Imari, Kakiemon, and Nabeshima works in porcelain whose colors are not affected by exposure to light are displayed on the exterior side of the gallery. The interior side provides a light-safe display space for classical woodblock prints and modern prints done in various techniques. The prints in this gallery are frequently changed, offering visitors the opportunity to see different prints every eight months.

Tea utensils and related artworks are on view in this gallery. The Asian Art Museum’s tearoom was designed by architect Sato Osamu as a functioning teahouse as well as a display case. Objects in the tearoom are changed seasonally, four times a year. To learn more about the tearoom, visit Teahouse at the Asian Art Museum

This gallery also features traditional and contemporary bamboo works. In 2002, the Asian Art Museum acquired almost nine hundred objects from the Lloyd Cotsen Japanese Bamboo Basket Collection, recognized as one of the largest and most notable collections of its kind in the world. Approximately twenty bamboo works from the collection are on display and they are replaced with a fresh selection of objects every eight months.

The Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world, and from them flow the major rivers of Asia. Surrounded by high peaks with only a few passes, the plateau of Tibet was home to people who developed their own distinct culture, which was highly influenced by Buddhism. That religion came to Tibet in two waves: from India, Nepal, and China in the seventh century, and again from India in the eleventh century. In addition to Tibetan art, this gallery contains objects from China and Mongolia that were created in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It also contains Hindu works from Nepal, and sculptures created by followers of the Bon tradition, which is native to Tibet and similar in many ways to Tibetan Buddhist art.